The Last Adventurer

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]

Chapter 93: Cactus Desert (2)

4.

Adventurers grow stronger as their Circles increase.

It’s an obvious truth, and so adventurers obsess over gaining more Circles.

However, adventurers who actually have many Circles often don’t obsess over leveling up.

“Once you reach 4th Circle, there are no adventurers who risk their lives for Circle-ups. Instead, they risk their lives for items.”

Instead, they obsess over items.

“Because they know.”

It wasn’t strange.

Even just reaching the 4th Circle was a level of recognition wherever you went, a truly extraordinary realm.

“They know how uncertain it is to reach the 5th Circle, and that they don’t have the talent for it.”

In other words, only a very few reach the realm beyond, the 5th Circle.

“That’s why they adventure.”

However, if they give up there, settle for reality, and are satisfied with that level, they can’t be called adventurers.

“They adventure to find Unique items.”

Therefore, the abilities of 4th Circle adventurers were determined not only by their individual skills but also by the Unique items they possessed.

“There are adventurers who succeed in that adventure.”

And among them were special cases.

“Those monsters are on a different level. They can defeat 5th Circle adventurers even though they are 4th Circle adventurers.”

Special cases that become outliers.

Of course, even those outliers had limits.

First of all, it was very rare to have multiple Unique items.

“Well, most of those monsters have extraordinary backgrounds.”

Unless they were the children of tycoons or princes of kingdoms, unless they were born with extraordinary backgrounds, it was impossible.

“And having Unique items isn’t the end.”

Crucially, having many items didn’t mean you could handle them all.

“Some tools require skill to use.”

In fact, handling Unique items required far more skill than one might think.

If a skill becomes powerful, you need the ability to properly handle that powerful force.

Also, the more powerful the skill, the more mana it usually required.

“The sharper the knife, the more likely you are to cut yourself if you mishandle it.”

Ultimately, powerful skills were like double-edged swords. If used properly against an enemy, it was a very good sword, but if it was directed at an ally? It would simply become a guillotine on the execution block, producing horrific results.

“What if you have outstanding ability, experience, and Unique items?”

Then what would happen if there was an adventurer who met all these conditions?

Of course, anyone who heard this question would give the same answer.

“There’s no way such an adventurer exists, right?”

It’s something not even worth imagining.

In other words, no one has ever answered how powerful such an adventurer would be.

But now, El Pam was showing the answer to that question against the cactus monster, Cactus.

“Fire Arrow.”

It started with Fire Arrow.

In fact, that itself wasn’t surprising.

The members of the El Pam party had seen the amazing results of El Pam’s Fire Arrow countless times.

But El Pam didn’t just show Fire Arrow.

“Flame Vortex.”

He showed the Flame Vortex spell, which summoned a giant flame.

And that was just the beginning.

“Flame Orb.”

A 3rd Circle fire attribute spell, Flame Orb.

It was a spell that boasted considerable power, launching fireballs at the enemy.

It was powerful enough to easily handle five or six Cactuses with a single spell.

The problem was that it was activated by none other than El Pam, armed with all sorts of Unique items.

Fwoosh!

The moment it was activated, fireballs the size of an adult man’s torso appeared. The number was also twice as many as in a normal Flame Orb spell.

And its power was incomparable to when it was used by existing fire attribute magicians.

Boom!

Instead of five or six Cactuses, fifty or sixty disappeared with a single spell!

“Explosion.”

El Pam didn’t stop there and also cast the 4th Circle fire attribute spell, Explosion.

It was one of the most powerful fire attribute spells, causing a powerful explosion as the name suggests.

Needless to say, the moment El Pam cast it, its power was beyond just “very powerful.”

Kaboom!

A huge explosion occurred around El Pam, who had used the spell, annihilating a hundred Cactuses in all directions.

It wasn’t a hunt.

It could only be described as a one-sided massacre.

“Oh my god.”

Even the El Pam party, who had faced all sorts of amazing situations, couldn’t help but be dumbfounded by the sight.

‘The Boss was this strong!’

And soon, they were filled with admiration.

It was a sight worthy of it.

A sight that deserved shock and admiration.

Only one person didn’t do so.

Boom!

“Explosion.”

El Pam didn’t express admiration at the sight he had created, at the sight of Cactuses being unilaterally destroyed by his magic.

He couldn’t.

‘This is a meaningless hunt.’

This hunt was just a meaningless one, where an adventurer couldn’t gain anything.

It was literally true.

For adventurers, monster hunting was a process for growth.

A process of gaining experience, improving party play proficiency, increasing skills, obtaining items, and developing survival abilities.

However, nothing could be expected from the hunting that El Pam was doing now.

He wasn’t gaining experience, he couldn’t expect any play from his companions, and obtaining items was impossible. Mana stones wouldn’t be able to withstand this tremendous destruction.

“Flame Orb.”

It was just a waste of time and mana.

‘This is where Oz’s disciple died.’

In other words, El Pam knew.

‘It wouldn’t be strange if this place was more difficult than the Prince’s Tomb.’

How dangerous this place was.

It wasn’t the time to be discussing training or anything like that.

‘We have to clear it within 5 days. So we have to save as much time as possible.’

That was the reason why El Pam was hunting like this, even though it yielded no rewards.

‘Especially in the desert.’

The desert environment made it impossible for previous adventurers to leave any traces, even if they wanted to.

Anything left on the sand would be erased by a single gust of wind.

It wouldn’t be strange if it took longer than El Pam expected to find the way.

‘Clairvoyance doesn’t work either.’

The effectiveness of El Pam’s clairvoyance was reduced in the desert environment.

Even clairvoyance had its limits.

Unlike a forest with trees, clairvoyance was meaningless in a desert filled with sand dunes.

Artemis’ Eye would be helpful, but its usefulness would inevitably decrease in the vast desert.

This meant that time was even more precious.

As El Pam continued his meaningless hunt, he soon saw it.

“The exit to the second floor.”

5.

The El Pam party, entering the second floor, was greeted by a dark forest filled with mushrooms.

Squeak!

An enormous number of mushrooms, exceeding thousands and reaching tens of thousands, attacked the El Pam party.

“Explosion.”

Boom!

The mushrooms that rushed in disappeared without a trace in front of El Pam’s overwhelming firepower.

Overwhelming destructive power.

But in fact, there was no need to show off destructive power.

“We move this way.”

El Pam had no intention of engaging in any more meaningless battles.

He simply moved on, trying to find the next exit as quickly as possible.

Finding the way wasn’t difficult either.

Unlike the desert, there were plenty of traces left by the Sand Painting Group, who had entered before to recover the wills of the Signus Knights.

Thanks to this, the El Pam party was able to find the exit to the third floor less than 12 hours after entering.

Of course, no one was happy about this.

El Pam’s companions knew.

‘Although the Boss showed an amazing performance, it wasn’t difficult to get here.’

The reason El Pam took the lead was because of time.

He made that choice because of the condition to finish within 5 days. If there was plenty of time, he would never have hunted like this.

However, none of the previous entrants had ever had a time constraint.

‘It’s not impossible to clear, even for us.’

Despite that, everyone failed.

The implication was simple.

‘The third floor is hell.’

The reason why everyone had to die existed beyond that exit.

“It took us three days to get here. Now we only have two days left.”

They had about 45 hours left.

It wasn’t a long time.

“Let’s move.”

Therefore, El Pam crossed the portal leading to the third floor without any hesitation.

His companions followed suit.

And they faced it.

“It’s a desert.”

A desert filled with golden sand.

‘It might be impossible to find the exit in two days.’

It was the worst-case scenario.

A situation where they would inevitably waste time.

‘If there is an exit.’

They would be lucky if there was even an exit leading out. They could leave even if it took time.

But everyone expected.

‘If that were the case, it would have already been cleared.’

They were sure that there would be a condition where the exit would only appear after defeating the boss monster.

In fact, everyone had expected this before even coming here.

In any case, there was nothing good about it, and everyone had a hardened expression in the face of this setback.

“Come on, let’s relax our faces and move!”

At that moment, Divo said with a smile.

To lighten the mood.

Everyone nodded at Divo’s words.

“First, those who are hot, come to Kiri and cool down. I’ll cling to him first!”

Everyone smiled at Divo’s subsequent actions.

“Yeah, we’ve come this far, let’s go!”

“There must be many good items since many have died here! I’m looking forward to it!”

Everyone cheered up and took a step forward.

Working hard to save even a little bit of time.

There was one exception.

“Boss? Why aren’t you moving?”

Only El Pam was standing still in front of the Mystic Gate entrance they had just crossed.

“Boss?”

In a situation where time was already short, he was just looking at the ground near his feet.

“Is there a problem?”

It was at that moment.

As Divo asked the question, El Pam pointed his finger at Kiri.

“Mano.”

Squeak!

At his words, the snail Mano emerged from inside Kiri’s armor, near the neck.

Soon, the snail Mano landed on the ground and quickly moved to El Pam’s feet.

Then, it looked at the ground beneath El Pam with its two eyes.

“Ah!”

It didn’t take long to understand the meaning.

“There’s something there!”

Divo, who uttered those words, moved to El Pam’s side and started digging the sand.

Thump!

After digging about a meter down, they found a wooden coffin.

Creak!

And when they opened the coffin, a corpse appeared, wearing a red robe that seemed to be burning like fire, dried and twisted into a mummy.

Everyone knew the identity of the corpse.

“It’s Bayos.”

Oz’s disciple, Bayos.

A genius who reached the 4th Circle in just one year.

Seeing the coffin containing the corpse, everyone fell silent for a moment.

At the same time, they had a question.

“What does it mean that they prepared a coffin?”

El Pam immediately answered the question.

“It means he was that important. That’s why they put him in a coffin and buried him near the entrance, so he could be found quickly.”

“Ah.”

El Pam’s companions’ expressions hardened even more after hearing the answer.

It was because they realized anew.

How important Oz’s disciple, Bayos, had been to the Sand Painting Group.

Therefore, the coffin contained more than just a corpse. Several letters were also included.

One of them was properly sealed.

“It’s a will.”

It was Bayos’ will.

A will informing them of what happened here, that he had been murdered.

It was the most important item.

“This is.”

The next item was none other than a report.

“It’s information about the third floor of this place.”

“Information?”

“The boss monster is… Dew.”

At El Pam’s words, everyone’s expressions stiffened.

“Dew, are you talking about the cactus giant, Dew?”

Dew.

Like Mushmom among mushroom monsters, it was the leader of the cactus monsters, Cactuses.

Its abilities were similar.

It produced an enormous number of Cactuses and led the group.

It was a powerful being.

“That enormous boss monster appeared here? In a Yellow Rank gate?”

It was something you wouldn’t see in a Yellow Rank gate.

El Pam didn’t give it much thought.

‘The appearance of Dew means they used Martyr.’

He was simply convinced that Bayos had been killed by the Black Mage’s followers.

In any case, one thing was certain.

‘Oh my god, this is a big deal, isn’t it?’

With the appearance of Dew, a non-standard boss monster, it wasn’t just about clearing the gate within five days, but whether they could clear it at all.

At that point, everyone thought.

‘Shouldn’t you change the plan?’

‘We have to give up on clearing it within 5 days. This isn’t the time for that. Clearing this is the problem.’

They had to stop thinking about the time limit.

They had to focus everything on clearing the gate and survival.

It was at that moment.

El Pam, who was examining Bayos’ corpse, paused as he looked at Bayos’ necklace and then spoke.

“Change of plans.”

Everyone’s faces brightened at his words.

‘As expected! We’re ditching the time limit!’

They thought the answer they had been expecting and waiting for was coming.

El Pam answered his companions’ expectations.

“We’re getting out of here within an hour.”

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]